What two parts is Islam broken down into?

Answer 1

What is Islam?: The name of the religion is Islam, which comes from an Arabic root word meaning "peace" and "submission." Islam teaches that one can only find peace in one's life by submitting to Almighty God (Allah) in heart, soul and deed. The same Arabic root word gives us "Salaam alaykum," ("Peace be with you"), the universal Muslim greeting.
Who is a Muslim?: A person who believes in and consciously follows Islam is called a Muslim, also from the same root word. So, the religion is called "Islam," and a person who believes in and follows it is a "Muslim."

• What is the difference between Muslim, Moslem and Islamic?

How Many and Where?: Islam is a major world religion, with over 1 billion followers worldwide (1/5 of the world population). It is considered one of the Abrahamic, monotheistic faiths, along with Judaism and Christianity. Although usually associated with the Arabs of the Middle East, less than 10% of Muslims are in fact Arab. Muslims are found all over the world, of every nation, color and race.

• Muslim population of the world

Who is Allah?: Allah is the proper name for Almighty God, and is often translated merely as "God." Allah has other names that are used to describe His characteristics: the Creator, the Sustainer, the Merciful, the Compassionate, etc.

Muslims believe that since Allah alone is the Creator, it is He alone that deserves our devout love and worship. Islam holds to a strict monotheism. Any worship and prayers directed at saints, prophets, other human beings or nature is considered idolatry.

• More about the nature of God
• "Names" of Allah

What do Muslims believe about God, prophets, the afterlife, etc.?: The basic beliefs of Muslims fall into six main categories, which are known as the "Articles of Faith":

• Faith in the unity of God
• Faith in angels
• Faith in prophets
• Faith in books of revelation
• Faith in an afterlife
• Faith in destiny/divine decree

The "five pillars" of Islam: In Islam, faith and good works go hand-in-hand. A mere verbal declaration of faith is not enough, for belief in Allah makes obedience to Him a duty.

The Muslim concept of worship is very broad. Muslims consider everything they do in life to be an act of worship, if it is done according to Allah's guidance. There are also five formal acts of worship which help strengthen a Muslim's faith and obedience. They are often called the "Five Pillars of Islam."

• Testimony of faith (Kalima)
• Prayer (Salat)
• Almsgiving (Zakat)
• Fasting (Sawm)
• Pilgrimage (Hajj)

Daily life as a Muslim: While often seen as a radical or extreme religion, Muslims consider Islam to be the middle road. Muslims do not live life with complete disregard for God or religious matters, but nor do they neglect the world to devote themselves solely to worship and prayer. Muslims strike a balance by fulfilling the obligations of and enjoying this life, while always mindful of their duties to Allah and to others.

• Morals and manners
• Business ethics
• Modesty in dress and behavior
• Dietary rules
• Marriage
• Care of children and elderly
• Racism and prejudice
• Relations with non-Muslims

Answer 2

At the time of the Prophet (SAW), there was no divide between the Muslims and even in the time of the 4 Kaliphs there was no divide. The divide started with a dispute about leadership. We all know that nowadays, the common groups or sects of the Muslims is the Sunnis and the Shias. The Shias believe that Ali (RA), the son-in-law of the prophet, should have received the leadership after his death instead of Abu Bakr.

Answer 3

There are different sects and sub-sects in almost all religions of the world. Islam is no exception. The main reason is difference in the level of understanding among people belonging to different socio-cultural backgrounds or vested interests.

The first split among Muslims came after the death of the third Rightful Caliph Hazrat Usman RAU. Those who advocated that Hazrat Ali RAU should have been chosen the Caliph after the death of the holy Prophet (SAW) declared them 'Shiyan-i-Ali.' It is interesting to note that during the Rightful Caliphate of first three Caliphs, Hazrat Ali RAU had been their advisor and active member of Muslim society.

Anyhow, The Shias and sunnies have the same basic belief except a few minor differences. The Shias claim that instead of first three Rightful Caliphs, the fourth Rightful Caliph Hazrat Ali (RAU) should have been chosen the First Caliph. The other differences are the creation of later people. The Sunni and Shia scholars have joined hands and sat together to solve the problems amicably. They have decided to tolerate each other and to avoid highlighting such matters as create hatred and enmity. May Allah Karim bless us with tolerance of all riligions and all humans! A'meen.

Answer 4

Answer 1

As far as I'm aware, the divide is between Sunni and Shia. Both types have said to me that the other is the more extreme.

Answer 2

No. Islam is split in many more than two ways. While Sunni and Shiite Islam claim to be the "only games in town", the Sunni Islam has many internal divisions between the different Madhaheb (Schools), political views, community-organization views, and fataawa (jurisprudential opinions). In Shiite Islam, the division between Zaydis, Ismailis, Eleveners, and Twelvers are event more stark. Finally, sects like the Ibadi are outside of the Sunni-Shiite dichotomy.

Answer 5

Islam is very clear, the Quran states "Obey Allah(God)and Obey His messenger". So it's very simple. The prophet,peace be upon him, said that Islam will split into 73 sects, the Christians into 72 sects and the Jews into 71. Only 1 sects from each will be on the right path and will enter paradise.

Answer 6

Islam has many different sects. The main ones are the Sunni branch and the Shi'ite branch.

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It is to confirmed that all Islam sects (or schools) same the same belief in prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in same Quran as well as sharing the same Islam fundamentals, morals, and principles. Refer to questions below for more information.

Answer 7

Answer 1

Islam is a COMPLETE religion. It is not divided in parts. A round thing cannot remain round if a part of it is torn apart. A complete remains complete , it loses its identity if something is added to it or taken out of it. There is no sitting on the fence in Islam. It is complete, sincere, decided, undoubted, unconditional total and willing surrender before Allah Almighty and sincere following of the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah Almighty be upon him). Muslim or no Muslim. No in-between. Allah's party and Satan's party. Clear. No one can deceive Allah Almighty. Enter Islam as a whole, ordains He. The Companions (RA) of our Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah Almighty be upon him) were neither Sunni no Shia, wahabi, ahl-i-hadith or anything else. They were the MUSLIMS. They understood Islam and practised it in the presence of the beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah Almighty be upon him). If somebody claims that he understands Islam better than they did, is misled, and misleads others. They were the direct students of the beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah Almighty be upon him), witnessed even the facial expression of the beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah Almighty be upon him), and were the direct audience of the Holy Quran. It does not suit a true Muslim to claim superiority to them and invent a new religion.

Answer 2

There are three main sects within Islam: Ahl Sunna (commonly called Sunni), Shi'a (commonly called Shiite) and Ibadi. The main distinction between them is who has the right to power over the community. However, as simple as that may seem at first blush, it lead to numerous smaller but significant differences.

Sunni Islam is the dominant sect of Islam worldwide and established the Rule of Intikhabat and Ashura (Elections) for Mohammed's successors. Sunni Islam has many different forms. The most common school of Islam is Hanafi, which is dominant in South Asia, the Levant, north Mesopotamia, Turkey, and southeast Europe. Sunni also has a mystical school called Sufism of which many sub-schools exist like the Turkish Dervishes. In recent times, Saudi Arabia has stimulated a sub-school within the Hanbali movement called Wahhabism which is a fundamentalist strain of Islam.

Shiite Islam is the dominant sect of Islam in Iran and the surrounding area. It was originally the political faction supporting Ali as Mohammed's successor instead of the elections. This has led to the ascription of martyrdom to Ali's sons: Hassan and Hussein who wished to promulgate a Caliphate from what the Shiites see as the rightful line. The most prominent school in Shiite Islam is the Ja'afari School. Shiite sub-schools have historically been quite varied leading to groups as different as the Ismailis and the Alawites, both groups existing outside of the majority Shiite area today. Former Shiite sub-schools have now exited the religion of Islam such as the Druze and the Baha'i. Shiite schools are unique in that the process of Ijtihad (Open Religious Jurisprudence) continues solely in Shiite Islam.

Ibadi Islam is the dominant sect of Islam in Oman. It is an offshoot of the third party in the Islamic Civil War (Fitna al-Kubra), the Kharijites (the other two parties were the Sunnis and the Shiites). Ibadi Islam is so small that it has no internal movements. Ibadi holds to a moderated version of the Kharijite purification requirements by limiting contact with unbelievers and increasing contact with proper believers. They also hold with the tradition Kharijite view of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, namely that Abu Bakr and Omar were proper rulers, Othman was not and Ali lost favor when he agreed to the Arbitration with Mu'awiya.

In addition to the three main sects of Islam, there are also minor sects like the Ahmadiyya which are considered blasphemous (takfir) by the remaining Muslim sects. Ahmadiyya was founded by a prophet (Mirza Ghulam) and, according to most Muslims, this violates the Islamic concept that Mohammed was the capstone of the Prophets: the last and final prophet. The difference between Ahmadiyya versus Baha'i and Druze is that the Ahmadiyya still see themselves as Muslims whereas Druze and Baha'i do not.

Answer 8

General Answer
It happens with Islam as it happens with most religions of the world. Strong personalities and differing cultural needs led to various kinds of divisions. These divisions are sometimes interpreted as breaks with orthodox teaching, and so various sects take root. The divisions can form around issues of scriptural interpretation, the application of various teachings, or the nature of authority in the religion and how that is going to be passed down.

Specific to Islam
There are numerous splits in Islam, these are probably the most historically important.

The Sunni-Shiite Split
The main reason for the split here was: Disagreements over Succession after Mohammed's death.

The Muslim community was united while Mohammed was the leader of this community. Most Muslims hold, however, that he never specifically chose a successor to his leadership. There was a minority in the community that supported the candidacy of 'Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law, this political faction became known as the "Supporters of 'Ali" which in Arabic is Shiat 'Ali (where the modern term "Shiite" comes from). They derived their support from specific hadiths and events that they claimed showed that God had revealed to Mohammed that 'Ali would succeed him. The majority of Muslims held that these hadiths and events showed nothing more than that 'Ali was very pious, something they did not deny. Therefore they gave power to the man who was Mohammed's second-in-command and father-in-law Abu Bakr. This majority were called the People of the Customs [of the Prophet] which in Arabic is Ahl Sunna (from where the modern term "Sunni" comes from.)

The Sunni & Shiite-Kharijite/Ibadi Split
The main reason for the split here was: Impurity of Leadership.

The Kharijites were dominant in Egypt at the same time that the Shiites and Sunnis saw their first major confrontation: the Fitna Al-Kubra. At this point, the Kharijites fought along with the Shiites against the Sunnis and were able to press the Sunni leader, Mu'awiya, to the precipice of defeat. However, Mu'awiya asked to treat with 'Ali, the Fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph and leader of the Shiites. 'Ali's accepting of this invitation and the trickery that Mu'awiya played on him during the meeting deeply angered the Kharijites who believed that 'Ali was too easily deceived to be a true leader of God. They abandoned the Shiites and became a third party to the conflict. This made it possible for Mu'awiya to emerge victorious and conquer the Shiites. He then turned his attention to Kharijites and routed them. Kharijites disappeared completely a few centuries later, but they were succeeded by a less puritanical subgroup called the Ibadis who form the majority in Oman.

The Sunni-Mu'tazilite Split
The main reason for the split here was: Whether Islamic Law should be viewed through the lens of rational thought or purely Divine Edict.

The Mu'tazilites developed as a school in Baghdad that taught that a rational outlook on the Qur'anic traditions and the discussion of God, postulating a creation of the Qur'an, actual time-bound actions of God, and momentary attributes. In contrast, mainstream Sunni Islam at the time endorsed the idea that everything about God was co-eternal with Him (including any speech he made or books he revealed). While Mu'tazilites had power in Baghdad for roughly 200 years, they slowly waned and were "outvoted" by traditional Sunni theology.

The Sunni & Shiite-"Modern Prophets Islam" Split
The main reason for the split here was: Whether a Prophet could arise after the Death of Mohammed.

There have been a number of different Islamic Sects (like the Druze, the Baha'i, and the Ahmadiyya) who disavow the Muslim claim that Mohammed was the final prophet and the seal of the prophet. This betrays one of the fundamental claims of Islam. In order to avoid scrutiny and persecution about this, the Druze and Baha'i now self-advocate as different non-Islamic religions. The Ahmadiyya, however, still claim to be Muslim and are subject to violence due to their "apparent heresy".

Answer 9

Two of the major groups are Sunnis and Shias.